XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Concept:Defend the earth from a terrifying alien invasion with global strategy and boots-on-the-ground tactical genius

Graphics:The Unreal Engine 3 graphics won’t win any technical awards, but the presentation does a great job of making turn-based strategy visually interesting

Sound:Michael McCann’s futuristic score is exceptional. The voice work is competent, but too limited

Playability:The occasional line-of-sight problem is a price worth paying for this otherwise excellent minimalist interface, which works equally well on gamepad or mouse/keyboard

Entertainment:The XCOM team’s love for the unapologetic hardcore PC games of old is matched by its unwavering dedication to making the world and events personal and immediate in a way the strategy genre has never achieved

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Summary:

Turn-based games have a thin line to walk in order to keep players engaged. XCOM: Enemy Unknown pulls players in so many different directions with both threats and opportunities t﻿hat making the tough choices it demands is as difficult as stepping away from the nail-biting situation onscreen. Defending against XCOM’s mysterious alien invasion is one of the most challenging, intense gaming experiences of this generation. Preventing Earth from succumbing to invading extraterrestrials takes place in two phases. In the strategic view, you must manage limited time, money, and material resources